Khalil Mack asked the Raiders for a contract extension in 2018 and said he would not show up at training camp without an agreement in place. He forced the team’s hand and this led to an exchange with the Bears. The trade apparently opened the proverbial gates, the teams having become less reluctant to deal with star players. Odell Beckham Jr., Antonio Brown and Stefon Diggs were all shipped for packages with print choices. Brown even dictated a team he would not play for.
Le’Veon Bell went even further by eliminating the entire 2018 NFL season. Players are less afraid to ask for exchanges and teams are less willing to stand in their way. The NFL has entered the era of athlete empowerment.
How did the league get there?
The “Rule Reserve” was promulgated by Major League Baseball in 1879. The NFL adopted its own version in 1920. When a player’s contract expired, the existing team obtained exclusive bargaining rights. There was no way to play elsewhere without spending a full season unless the team traded or sold the player’s deal to another team.
In 1947, the NFL replaced its “reserve rule” with the “one-year option rule”. Teams could control a player for a season beyond their expiring contract. It remained so until 1963.
Catcher RC Owens spent five years with the San Francisco 49ers before becoming the first NFL player to change teams. His move to the Baltimore Colts in 1962 angered the owners of the team – the owner of the 49ers, Vic Morabito, was so upset by the move of Owens that he refused to speak to the owner of the Colts, Carroll Rosenbloom, according to the Los Angeles Times. This led Commissioner Pete Rozelle to institute the “Rozelle Rule”, which required that a team sign a player who had become a free agent to compensate that player’s old team with players and / or selections from repechage. If the two parties could agree on fair compensation, then Rozelle would serve as an arbitrator. In a Bleacher Report article, it was alleged that Rozelle demanded that the Saints give up two first-round picks in exchange for wide receiver Dave Parks, who had only 26 assists the previous season.
The NFL Players Association would eventually challenge the “Rozelle Rule” in the form of Mackey against the NFL, in which NFLPA president John Mackey and several other players chased the league. The rule was determined to violate the Sherman Act, which condemns the restriction of trade. The “Rozelle Rule” was replaced by the right of first refusal and compensation in 1977. The original team of a player had the right to match any contract presented to a free agent by another team. In case the player signed with a new team, a more structured plan has been created for the original team to be compensated. During this period, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl with a roster made up entirely of their own talents – players they had originally recruited or signed. It would be the last time this would happen in the history of the league. Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw said the team could not have stayed together if there had been free will.
“They wouldn’t do it,” said Bradshaw 97.3 The Fan, via CBSSports.com, when asked if the 70s Steelers would have been able to keep all of their big players long enough to win these four Super Bowls today. “It would not have happened. They would have kept very little [Hall of Fame players]. ”
The NFL followed this pattern throughout the 1988 NFL season.
The players went on strike in 1987 due to labor disputes. The league responded by bending the knee slightly through “Plan B.” The majority of the file was protected against poaching, but the rest was likely to be free. The final straw would come a few years later when the players pursued the league. The free agency and a salary cap were instituted as part of the 1993 collective agreement.
Fast forward to modern times, where the safety of the Jets Jamal Adams, the Jaguars ‘edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue and the Browns’ tight end David Njoku have asked for trades that have not yet been awarded. In the past year alone, Redskins forward Trent Williams, Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders have traded and been dealt with.
The mere thought of demanding a trade would not have been on the mind of a player at the start of the league. NFL players are more empowered than ever to play the game on their own terms.
Where will progression lead the league next?
Want more information on where Adams could land if swapped? CBS Sports a the latest rumors regarding the situation. 49th ball carrier Raheem Mostert also requested an exchange.
